Surprises Great and Small
by Omnicat
Summary: It takes quite a bit of courage to go into Himeno and the kids' plans blindly. / Sasame x Takako


**Title:** Surprises Great and Small

**Author:** Omnicat

**Unofficially Adapted From:** Junichi Sato's _Prétear_

**Spoilers & Desirable Foreknowledge:** All of the above.

**Warnings:** None.

**Characters & Pairings:** Sasame x Takako, Himeno, the kids

**Summary:** It takes quite a bit of courage to go into Himeno and the kids' plans blindly. / Sasame x Takako

**Author's Note:** I don't think we ever heard the name of the creature Himeno and the kids flew on when they went to the place Fenrir was sealed. So I called it 'air ray'. It kind of resembled a manta ray, in my eyes. Enjoy!

**II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II**

**Surprises Great and Small**

The group gathered in front of her door was so cheerful it made Takako uneasy. She brushed her hair behind her ears several times in a row while Goh and Himeno explained about the 'surprise party' that had been so effectively ruined by an overenthusiastic Mannen the very moment they had arrived. _"Takako, we're having a party for your birthday!"_ He was still rubbing his sore ear when Himeno and Goh finished and they - Himeno, Goh, Shin, Hajime and Mannen too - looked at Takako expectantly. Takako was at a loss for words under all that attention.

"Really, this isn't necessary..."

"Don't be like that, Takako! We wanted to throw a birthday party for you, so we _are _going to throw a party for you. Simple as that."

"And we want you to have fun, so you _are_ going to have fun!" Mannen added to Himeno's comment, earning him a playful thwack over the head from Goh and a kiss on his hair to make up for it from Himeno.

"Besides, we're already done with the preparations, so you can't say no anymore!" Hajime said.

"You're not busy, are you, Takako?" Shin asked quietly, his green eyes full of concern. He and Hajime tugged at Takako's sleeves and looked up at her pleadingly. She sighed. There was no denying those looks. And she wasn't busy; with Sasame off, she'd more or less planned to spend the day reading in the quiet solitude of their home.

"Allright. But you do realise that technically, I'm turning thirty-four, not eighteen? I'm too old for surprise parties."

"One can never be too old for surprise parties." Himeno proclaimed sagely. Then she leaned over to whisper in Takako's ear: "Especially not for this one."

Curiosity piqued, Takako let herself be whisked away by the friends that had so unexpectedly shown up on her doorstep. Leafenia knew only few buildings, her own home included, so she could guess their destination fairly quickly as the air ray swerved through the skies. She stretched dangerously high in her attempt to make sure she wasn't just seeing things, gripping onto the air ray with a squeak when the wind threatened to blow her off.

"The Court?" she whispered in astonishment, looking over at Himeno. "The party you're throwing me is at _the Court of Leafe_, the crown citadel of all of Leafenia?"

"It looks more majestic from up here than it does on the inside, at the moment." Himeno said, her laughter swept away by the wind. "But it's okay. There isn't exactly much use for the place nowadays, so we thought, why not do something fun with it."

Takako shook her head, her raven hair fluttering around her face. "You're all far too good to me."

"Don't let Sasame hear you."

"He's here? I thought he had to work."

"Nu-uh," Himeno waggled her finger and almost fell off the air ray before Takako caught her. Takako raised an eyebrow at her, making the pink-haired girl laugh again. "I'm not telling you anything, even if you saved my neck just now."

When they had touched down outside the Court Gates, Takako was blindfolded. A still overenthusiastic Mannen spun her around for good measure, whining that "She can't know yet!" when Goh smacked him over the head again. But then Shin and Hajime took her hands, assured her that they would take good care of her (if they were anything like their predecessors, Takako thought they probably gave Mannen meaningful looks as they said it) and led her away. The fact that these little guys could accept her so easily, just like they'd adopted Himeno and Mawata as their 'big sisters', always got to Takako. In turn, she trusted them so completely that she didn't feel any fear of tripping while they led her along the winding paths, through the flowerbeds and blooming bushes.

As they entered the cool shade of the entrance hall, Takako felt a body brush by her, followed by an unintelligible whisper from across the room. The children's small hands slipped from her own.

"Guys?" Takako said, turning her head towards what she thought was a source of sound. Something rustled and disappeared. "Kids? Himeno?" She strained her ears and heard the birds sing and the trees sigh outside, the rustling and tinkling of banners and chandeliers high above her, and muffled footsteps in every corner.

"Guys!" No answer. She reached for the blindfold.

"Don't take it off yet!" Mannen yelled from her far right.

"What's going on here? You didn't bring me here to play at blindman's buff, did you?"

Looking back, Takako realised that was the stupidest thing she could have said.

After the exact amount of time it takes for a devious plan to pop up in one's mind and mischievous looks saying 'Are you thinking what I'm thinking? Thought so.' to be exchanged, a flurry of sound and movement burst out all around Takako. Something small and slick passed between her ankles, sending her stumbling backwards with a yelp, where a towering shape knocked her over. Her fall was broken by something soft, which let out a very Himeno-ish "Oomph!" when Takako landed on top of it. A disoriented juggling of bodies and flailing and bumping of limbs later, the still blindfolded birthday girl was dragged to her feet and rushed off. Himeno led Takako through what seemed like a maze of ever-shifting movement, crashes and shouts. Over all the noise Goh made it very clear that _Mannen was in for it!_

"Hold on!" Himeno yelled, at which their clasped hands were promptly torn apart. Takako heard the younger girl yelp and spun around in an attempt to locate the place she'd vanished to. But it was too noisy to distinguish any voices - she couldn't even tell who it was yelling "Get that Tipi before it - oh crap!", because of the ringing and, she realised, Tipi-chirping in her ears.

It took a moment for realisation to hit her, and when she finally raised her hand to remove the blindfold, someone grabbed her by the wrist again. Annoyance sparked and died as she was led away to a place where the air was cooler and stiller. Takako's silent guide brought her to what she expected was a side wing, and closed the door, blocking out the noise coming from the main hall almost completely. The chirping of the birds outside was louder than that, now.

Again her hand was stayed when she wanted to remove the blindfold. "Himeno?" She reached out with her free hand and found a body - a flat, hard chest. "Oh! Who..."

She felt him lean in, and then a mouth was placed over her still parted lips. Recognition shot through her like a flash of lightning, leaving a tingling sensation all throughout her body. She leaned into the kiss and nestled herself against his chest as his arms wrapped around her.

When they parted he whispered, a gentle smile in his voice: "Guess."

"Can I have another kiss to make sure - Sasame?"

"Any time." he answered, slipping the cloth from her eyes. His smile was even more dazzling than she remembered. "Happy birthday, Takako."

He kissed her again, and this time they didn't break apart nearly as quickly.

"I'm sorry about the party," Sasame said when they eventually broke apart. "I don't think it will be held here anymore. The Tipis went crazy."

"It doesn't matter. I already got all I wanted for my birthday."

**II-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-I-oOo-I-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-II**

**PSAN: **This is a repost, so if it looks familiar, yes, you've probably read this before in a different context.


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